


Start of Something Good

by TeamDamon



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bottom Bucky Barnes, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, My happy alternate reality where AOU was good and CW never happened, Shrunkyclunks, Stucky - Freeform, Top Steve Rogers, Virgin Steve Rogers, Wanda Is A Good Bro, and Thanos tripped on a banana peel and died and was never an issue, nurse!bucky, post-AoU, stucky au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 04:06:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15900567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamDamon/pseuds/TeamDamon
Summary: Steve smiled back and blushed, his broken leg seemingly the very last thing on his mind. "A for effort though, right?""A for effort, F for execution," Bucky squinted, smile stuck on his face. "Next time just ask me out to dinner or something."Bucky immediately wondered why the hell he'd let such overt, dangerous words slip from his lips so easily, but he couldn't take them back now. Steve's brows shot up fractionally in reply, smile growing as he asked quietly, "In that case... wanna get dinner sometime?"How Bucky avoided melting to the floor in a giant puddle of goo, he'd never know. He grinned and bit his lip, ducking his head down shyly before nodding and peeking back at his patient. "Yeah, I'd love that."---AU where Bucky gets a job as a nurse at the Avengers compound, makes friends with Wanda and catches the eye of a certain super soldier.





	Start of Something Good

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to another random Stucky oneshot instead of any of the other zillions of things I should be working on :) my huge thanks to MorningGlory2 for her help with this and for the conversation that led to this idea in the first place :D I love you guys and hope you likey!! Follow me on Tumblr at murder-daddy-bucky if ya like!!

Bucky Barnes grew up at the turn of the century in New York, his dream since childhood being to help people and to save lives. His dad wanted him to be a doctor, but when teenaged Bucky watched his mother slowly lose her battle with breast cancer, he saw the way that her nurses were the ones providing ultimately the most crucial care of all. By the time he had to tell his mama goodbye those nurses felt like family, and through his bone-deep grief Bucky found purpose. He was going to be a nurse, and he was gonna do it not just for himself but for his mama, too. 

His dreams were nearly cut short years later while in nursing school, specifically one otherwise ordinary afternoon when he and a few classmates were grabbing lunch from a cafe. At first everything was fine, aside from the fact that his sandwich had mayo when he'd specifically requested otherwise. But then as they'd made their way out the door, the sound of frantic screaming from all sides had pierced his ears and a car that came flying through the air had come within inches of his classmate. He grabbed her and they bolted back inside, the entire cafe rushing to the windows to watch as Chitauri fighters came pouring out of the sky to wage war on their city. 

It was a day that Bucky and the rest of the city - and the world - would never forget, the day that alien invasions became more than merely the stuff of sci-fi. Bucky watched the city fall into chaos before his very eyes, and his medical training came in handy when more people sook refuge in the cafe. 

He made a tourniquet out of fabric from his hoodie and stopped a little girl's leg from bleeding out as she cried for her mother, who was missing. He held down a towel from the cafe's staff on a man bleeding from his stomach, glancing up on occasion to keep an eye on what was happening outside. His hands were shaking and he was fighting the urge to panic and be sick, but he held it together and felt a spark of hope take hold when he saw a very famous face fighting back just outside, in the middle of the road. 

Captain America, Steve Rogers, the biggest story of the decade and a living legend, was taking down alien after alien with nothing but his bare hands and his iconic shield. There was a woman with him, tiny in stature but more than holding her own against the aliens herself, and a man with a bow and arrow flanking her. They cleared the area of hostiles like it was nothing, dashing off to chase the next fight once the block was secure. 

Bucky watched them run off, feeling a little better knowing that the city wasn't defenseless. He looked up skyward and saw Iron Man's familiar suit taking on an entire fleet of bad guys, and Bucky took a deep breath and turned back to his new "patients". Whatever was happening, the city was in good hands. Now he had to do his part. 

And he did. He and his fellow students kept the injured alive until first responders made their way to the cafe and whisked them off, by which point whispers were spreading that the fight was over and that they'd won. The cafe owner pulled out his phone and got a live news feed on YouTube to load just long enough to confirm the rumor, and the combination of cheers and relieved tears that erupted around Bucky moved him down to his very soul. 

And best of all, Bucky got to watch the little girl with the bleeding leg be reunited with her mother as paramedics prepped to transport her to the hospital. The mother hugged Bucky and cried her thanks into his shoulder, and he had no shame in crying with her. 

It was a traumatic day that he'd relive in his nightmares for years to come, but it was also a day that would define the rest of his life. It set him on a path that would lead him to places he never could have dreamed of, with people that would soon evolve from famous heroic figures to much, much more. 

OOO

Despite graduating at the top of his class and spending 2 years working the ER at the best hospital in NYC, Bucky still wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up getting a job at the Avengers compound upstate. He had the credentials and some experience, sure, but he was still green and hardly the nurse his older colleagues were. He'd applied for the position mostly as a joke, saying at best he'd at least get an interview out of it and get to see the inside of the secretive building and maybe (probably not) catch a glimpse of Cap in a less traumatic context. 

He never expected to be put through a background check to end all background checks, evaluated both mentally and physically astoundingly thoroughly, and then offered the job within the week. 

_He actually got the job._ He couldn't believe it. A job caring for Earth's mightiest heroes and the agents supporting them? He was so excited that he nearly vibrated out of his skin every single day that passed until his first shift at the compound. 

He was also nervous as hell, mainly because there truthfully wasn't a member of the Avengers that he wouldn't sleep with if given the opportunity. Well, perhaps minus the Hulk, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't be trying to place any IVs on him, anyway. Still, the prospect of interacting with the team was daunting - they'd saved so many lives and continued to do so on a regular basis, and now their lives would be, at least to a degree, in _his_ hands. 

He nearly quit the job three times before his start date. The third time was in his car, having a panic attack after he'd parked in the Avengers compound underground garage prior to his very first day at the new job. He had his forehead to the steering wheel, hyperventilating and rehearsing his resignation speech in his head until he finally decided to suck it up, get out of the car and go the fuck to work. 

And he couldn't have been happier with his decision. 

As it turned out, he had to complete some further specialized education before he got to get on the floor. Here he would be treating enhanced individuals, at least one of them not even from Earth, and their treatment plans were very different from that of typical folks. He learned, for example, that should Thor or Steve Rogers ever request pain medicine or require sedation, their dosages would be concentrated and high enough to be fatal for non-enhanced individuals. A new Avenger, Wanda Maximoff, could not be given certain medicines for the potential of them altering her inner balance of energy and, potentially, turning her into a walking nuclear bomb. 

Vision, an impressively philosophical android, was a walking medical mystery and a work in progress that the lead medical staff simply shrugged at for now. He seemed somewhat indestructible, though, so that was a relief considering his medical file had more question marks than actual words. 

It was all fascinating. A bit terrifying, sure, but Bucky liked the challenges that it presented. He could do this, he decided for sure at the end of his first week. This was good. This was where he was supposed to be. 

His very first Avenger patient was Natasha Romanoff, who was very much human and unfortunately susceptible to things like secondary infections following a bout of influenza. Bucky worked alongside the doctor as she was diagnosed with bronchitis, and the entire time she eyed Bucky curiously. Puzzlingly curiously, Bucky thought, feeling like a bug under a microscope the entire time, as if she somehow knew all of his deepest and darkest secrets just by watching him dispense a dose of antibiotics into her hand. 

Maybe she did, he thought afterward. After all, they didn't call her the Black Widow for nothing. 

His second Avenger patient wasn't really a patient at all, but a woman who would become a friend. He found Wanda sitting alone in the halls one day, crying and shaking mid-anxiety attack following a particularly difficult therapy session with her psychologist. He hauled her into the nurse's break room and sat her down on the most comfortable couch there, made her a cup of tea and gave her his hoodie to keep warm, and stayed with her until he knew that she was feeling a little better. 

He didn't expect her to say a word to him but she did. She told him how she missed her twin brother, how nothing felt right without him and how hard it was to focus on training and developing her skills and power when he wasn't there for her to vent to at the end of the day. He had always known how to make her laugh, she said. She hardly ever laughed anymore and she wasn't sure if she ever would again. He was her last remaining joy in her life, and now he was gone. 

Bucky then shared a story with her that he kept under wraps when it came to most people due to how difficult it was. He knew what it was like to lose half of your soul, to lose a sibling and never feel the same ever again. He'd lost his little sister when she was still tiny, barely even 3 years old, and that kind of pain just wasn't one that could ever leave. It still felt raw somedays, he told her, but it was a reminder that she had once been there and had been real. Life would never be the same without her, but he'd never forget her. She was half of his heart, after all. 

Later on, after they became real friends, Wanda would tell him that he was one of the first non-Avengers to treat her like a real person and without fear, without looking at her like she was some kind of fascinating exhibit at the zoo. 

The third Avenger he encountered was none other than the mighty Thor himself, who had managed to get his shoulder impaled on some kind of jagged metal beam. Bucky walked into the exam room to find him sitting there laughing and joking like nothing was wrong in the slightest, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner present and sighing at their Asgardian friend's antics. 

Unsurprisingly, the beam was removed with barely a drop of blood lost. Bucky did get to touch his massive bicep and upper chest as he dressed the wound after, however, so as injuries went it was one of Bucky's favorites. Besides, Thor treated it as little more than an annoying bee sting. Asgardians were something else. 

All in all, Bucky was finally feeling at home in his new job after two months there and immensely enjoying it. In fact, he was feeling so confident that one day he strolled into a new patient's exam room without checking the chart first, and it ended up being one of his most costly mistakes yet. 

"I'm telling you, Tony, I'm _fine_ -"

"Yeah, you say that even when you're obviously not fine so if you don't mind, I'm gonna call bullshit."

"But I feel fine! Nothing happened, it was just some kinda weird gas!"

"Like I said, Rogers, better safe than sorry."

It took both Tony and Steve looking up for Bucky to realize he'd been simply standing there in the middle of the room staring like a complete and utter moron. But Steve was sitting there on the exam chair shirtless, in just his uniform pants and boots, blonde hair askew and face dirty post-battle, and fuck if Bucky had ever seen anything so damn beautiful in his life. 

_Oh God_. He wasn't ready for this. 

Heart hammering in his chest and cheeks flushing with embarrassment, Bucky snapped his mouth shut and half-stammered, "I'm, uh - my name is Bucky and I've just gotta check your vitals and draw some blood."

Steve nodded and turned his gaze back to Tony, grumbling, "You _know_ this isn't necessary."

"Would you just shut up and let the kid do his job?"

"I am," Steve argued as Bucky grabbed a stool and rolled it to Steve's bedside, already sweating profusely under his scrubs. "But it's still a waste of time."

"Newsflash, Rogers, your health isn't a waste of time."

Taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the bickering taking place, Bucky focused on washing his hands and getting his sterile gloves on, mentally telling himself to get it together. This was just another patient. It was no big deal. Sure it was Steve Rogers and sure he'd had a crush on him since the first time he'd opened his 5th grade U.S. History textbook to picture of freshly post-serum shirtless Steve, but that was neither here nor there. He was a medical professional and he had a job to do, and that was that. 

He kept silently repeating that to himself as he took a seat next to Steve, blood draw kit in his still-shaky hands. Then, to his horror, he opened the kit and somehow managed to let all of the contents spill on the floor. 

"Fuckin' _dammit_ fuck fuck," he muttered under his breath, face now the color of a strawberry as he glanced up to find both Captain America and Iron Man staring at him in confusion. He gulped down a massive lump of humiliation. "I'll just... let me go get a new one."

He was going to die. This was it. He'd never wished for the ground to open up and swallow him whole more than he did in that very moment. 

When he returned with a new kit in hand, opening it carefully on the tray this time like a responsible adult, Tony eyed him carefully and said, "I know that Captain Delicious is super distracting and all but try to focus because if you sever an artery with that butterfly needle -"

"Tony, get out," Steve rolled his eyes, cutting him off. When Tony made no effort to so much as budge, Steve raised his eyebrows and added, "I'm serious. Go. You're making him nervous."

"Okay, if anything in this room is making Nurse Pretty Boy nervous, it's your D-cups," Tony retorted without missing a beat. Bucky choked on nothing and Steve grimaced before dragging a hand over his suddenly flushed face. 

"Tony..."

"Fine, I'll leave," Tony conceded, holding up his hands in surrender as he made for the door. "And no skipping out on the doctor, either. You need the full workup."

Steve grumbled in the affirmative and waved Tony away, and only seconds later, he and Bucky were alone. To Bucky's surprise, he actually felt considerably more at ease once Tony was gone, but he would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't still nervous as hell. 

"Sorry about him," Steve said, glancing up at Bucky apologetically. "He's..."

"Tony Stark," Bucky smiled back, giving a hopefully nonchalant shrug as he leaned down to fit Steve's arm with a blood pressure cuff. "It's all right. I should be the one apologizing, dropping shit everywhere."

Steve shook his head. "It happens. I drop stuff all the time."

Bucky smiled at Steve's attempt to put him at ease, feeling like his stomach was being eaten alive by the butterflies inside of it. They fell silent as Bucky took Steve's vitals, his blood pressure and pulse and oxygen rate all perfect. He scribbled the numbers down on Steve's chart and asked, "So what landed you here?"

"Apparently it's protocol when you're blasted in the face with an unknown gaseous substance," Steve shrugged. Bucky replaced the blood pressure cuff with a tourniquet, tying it tight on his upper arm before inspecting his veins. "But it's a waste of time. I'm immune to everything and nobody else was exposed."

"Well, safety first and all," Bucky replied before leaning back and grabbing an alcohol swab to clean off Steve's forearm. 

Steve watched him work, expression growing thoughtful as Bucky inserted the small needle and got his vein on the first try. He started filling the first of five vials as Steve said, "Bucky. Are you Wanda's friend Bucky?"

Bucky looked up in surprise, his heart performing a strange flip flopping motion when their eyes met. "I - what? Oh, Wanda. Yeah, we're friends." _Smooth one, moron._

Steve smiled a little bit in that effortlessly charming way of his, replying, "I thought so. Not a very common name these days."

Bucky nodded in agreement, filling the third vial now. "Yeah, s'my nickname. My grandma came up with it and it stuck." Then he paused and asked, "She talks about me?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. You're the first friend she's made outside of the team. She's had a rough time, so I was happy to hear it."

"She's pretty amazing," Bucky said, now on the last vial. "Been through a lot but she's strong as hell."

"Definitely," Steve agreed. "What about you? How'd you end up working here?"

Bucky smiled and looked down, shaking his head. "To be honest I'm not even sure. I applied just for the hell of it and didn't think I'd even get an interview, let alone actually get the job."

Steve chuckled, the last vial full and Bucky now pulling the needle out of his arm and applying pressure to his forearm with a strip of gauze. "Well, can't open any doors if you never knock. I know what that's like. Took me five tries to get into the Army."

"Yeah, I know," Bucky grinned at him, placing a bandaid over the gauze to hold it in place. "I wrote a paper on you my sophomore year of college."

"Ah," Steve laughed, gesturing lightheartedly with his hand. "So you already know all my secrets, then."

"Not all of them, I'm sure," Bucky chuckled back, and were his eyes playing tricks or was Steve - _Steve Rogers_ \- blushing? And was Bucky actually flirting with him? What was even happening?

Steve didn't reply but he didn't look away, either. His smile lingered on his face and Bucky found himself staring back at him for entirely too long, catching himself and shaking his head before muttering, "Sorry, I'm - I've gotta get these to the lab," he gestured to the blood samples. "Doctor will be in any minute and hopefully we'll all be outta your hair soon."

"Okay," Steve nodded. "Thanks for..." He furrowed his brows and seem to realize he had no idea what to thank Bucky for, and thankfully Bucky wasn't so far gone yet that he couldn't come to his rescue. 

"Getting the vein on the first try?" he guessed, tossing Steve a wink. "It's my specialty."

"Good one to have," Steve smiled back. 

"Yeah, proper aim and placement is key," Bucky grinned, and before his brain could make his mouth shut up he added, "in all kinds of situations."

Steve laughed, looking away and shaking his head as Bucky wished once more that hell itself would open up and take him under to save him from himself. "I'll take your word for it."

Then Steve had the audacity to peek back up at Bucky and smile in a way that couldn't possibly not be flirtatious. Bucky simply smiled back and then hustled out of the exam room before he could implode, never having embarrassed himself so badly in so many different ways in such a short amount of time in his life. He was going to be mentally replaying every last moment of the entire encounter for probably the rest of his life, but he couldn't even be that angry at himself because... he had flirted with Steve Rogers, and Steve Rogers had flirted back. 

_Holy crap._

OOO

There was a rule in place for the Avengers that was supposed to be non-negotiable but was often ignored, and that was mandatory medical checkups following each and every venture into the field. Prior to meeting Bucky, Steve would only show up for his if he was unconscious and thus had no choice in the matter or if he was bleeding badly enough to need stitches before his accelerated healing kicked in. But suddenly, following their awkward yet flirty first encounter, he started faithfully showing up for each and every checkup. 

Sometimes Bucky was there for them and sometimes he wasn't, depending on his shifts and rotation, and he didn't realize what was happening until Wanda texted him one night that Steve kept asking her about him. He was trying to play it cool, she said, but he was terrible at it and it was painfully obvious that he was fishing for info. 

_He wanted to know if you've got a girlfriend._

Bucky had choked on the leftover Chinese takeout that he was eating on his couch and quickly replied, _What did you say???_

_I said no, and no boyfriend either. His face became a tomato and then he changed the subject._

Bucky stared at his phone and stopped chewing the food in his mouth, unable to process this information. Steve was asking about him in a romantic context. There was only one reason why anyone ever did such a thing, and that was... _oh God oh God oh God_

_Fuck fuck fuck Wanda omg_

_Relax._

_I can't, I'm gonna fuckin lose my fuckin mind fuck_

_Jesus Christ_

Despite being able to literally feel Wanda's eyes rolling via her text, Bucky decided he just didn't care and that this was, in fact, completely worthy of a hefty amount of panic. How could he possibly play it cool at work now knowing that Steve was interested on at least some level? He couldn't - he was doomed. Utterly and completely doomed. 

And the truth was, it wasn't even because Steve was Captain America and a celebrity that Bucky had been aware of since childhood. He wasn't generally starstuck when it came to Steve or any of the others, especially now that he'd seen them all up close and they were real to him, not just figures on TV or magazine covers. He couldn't even explain what had happened when he'd first walked into that exam room and met Steve, except that when their eyes met he felt like he'd been knocked off his feet by Mjolnir itself. He'd never felt anything like it before, and it kept happening every single time he saw Steve. 

It was almost a relief, then, when Bucky didn't see Steve for awhile following Wanda's illuminating texts. He never knew when long absences from any of the team meant time off or long missions and this time was no different. It was a bit nerve wracking, always being in the dark, but he was getting used to it. 

He got his answer two weeks later. He was scribbling on a chart at the nurse's station with one hand and chugging a cup of coffee with the other when the sound of doors opening and footsteps raining down the hall caught his attention. He turned his head just in time to see Steve being wheeled down the hallway on a stretcher, still in uniform and very conscious and babbling at Sam on his right to let him get up. 

Bucky sighed and quickly knocked back the rest of his coffee, then quickly grabbed one of the bars on the stretcher and helped guide it towards an empty triage room. "You aren't getting up any time soon, pal."

Steve's expression immediately softened when he saw Bucky, though it didn't make him any more cooperative. "I can walk fine, I just - "

"You broke your damn leg, man," Sam rolled his eyes. "Just because you _can_ walk doesn't mean you should."

"He's right," Bucky told Steve as they turned the corner. 

"See?" Sam grinned, gesturing to Bucky. "Now you gonna argue?"

Steve grumbled but ultimately conceded, still not exactly cooperating but being slightly less exasperating as Bucky got him moved into an exam room. Once Steve was settled into a bed and Bucky had paged the doctor on call, Bucky took his vitals and then began his initial exam all while Sam and a handful of others hung by the door. 

"Well," Bucky said as he gently examined the leg in question, careful not to hurt Steve in the process, "the doc'll X-ray to confirm but yeah... my money's on a pretty serious break."

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Great."

"What'd you do this time," Bucky asked, hands on his hips, "stop a train with a kick or something?"

"I jumped off a building," Steve shrugged. "Misjudged the landing by a couple of inches."

Bucky raised an eyebrow. "You know, they make these things called parachutes..."

"Don't need 'em," Steve grinned. 

"You've got a broken leg that would beg to differ," Bucky grinned back. 

Steve chuckled in resignation, unable to argue that one. "Yeah... well," he cast his eyes down. "Least I got to see you tonight, right?"

It took Bucky a few long seconds for those words to sink in, and once they did his eyes widened and his heart definitely skipped one or two beats. He stared at Steve dumbly for way too long before he blinked and caught himself, crooked flirty grin finally making an appearance as he replied, "If you wanna see me that bad, all you gotta do is say so. Don't have to go jumping off buildings and getting yourself hurt."

Steve smiled back and blushed, his broken leg seemingly the very last thing on his mind. "A for effort though, right?"

"A for effort, F for execution," Bucky squinted, smile stuck on his face. "Next time just ask me out to dinner or something."

Bucky immediately wondered why the hell he'd let such overt, dangerous words slip from his lips so easily, but he couldn't take them back now. Steve's brows shot up fractionally in reply, smile growing as he asked quietly, "In that case... wanna get dinner sometime?"

How Bucky avoided melting to the floor in a giant puddle of goo, he'd never know. He grinned and bit his lip, ducking his head down shyly before nodding and peeking back at his patient. "Yeah, I'd love that."

Steve smiled back in a way that made Bucky feel like he was floating on air. Then the moment was cut short by the doctor arriving at last but it was all right. Bucky wouldn't dare complain after having experienced something as damn near magical as those last few moments. 

He and Steve had a date. A real, honest to God date. 

He couldn't fucking wait. 

OOO

Steve, thanks to the serum, was up and walking on his newly perfectly healed leg a mere two weeks later. Wanda facilitated the exchange of his and Bucky's numbers and, as a result, Bucky received a text mid-shift one day asking if dinner at a little Italian place in Brooklyn was an acceptable choice of restaurant. Bucky, who would have probably eaten out of a dumpster if it meant going on that date, wasted no time in affirming the date, and suddenly he and Steve had plans for that upcoming Friday night. 

He was excited and anxious and elated but quickly realized upon a thorough look through his closet that he had absolutely nothing to wear. What the hell did one wear on a date with Captain America, anyway? He was an old fashioned kinda guy, right? Maybe Bucky's go-to of black skinny jeans, leather jacket and scarf wouldn't cut it. Maybe he needed to go more formal but not too formal, because he'd checked the restaurant out and it was a casual sort of place, but he couldn't go too casual because then it would look like he hadn't made enough of an effort and - 

"Would you relax?" Wanda sighed, laying back on the foot of Bucky's bed while he tore through his closet like a madman. She was magically juggling a clock, Bucky's phone and an empty cup in midair, swirling the objects through the air as she added, "You could show up in a paper bag and he would still love it."

"Bullshit," Bucky muttered under his breath, holding up an old concert t-shirt and eyeing it with distaste. "It's Steve fuckin' Rogers. He probably gets asked out by the most beautiful people in the world on a daily basis." When Wanda merely snorted in reply, Bucky looked at her over his shoulder and furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Natasha is constantly trying to play matchmaker with him and it never works," Wanda explained, sitting up. "He's never interested in anyone. Except for you, evidently."

Bucky blinked. The idea of Steve Rogers _not_ scoring hookups left and right was almost beyond Bucky's capacity to comprehend. Even more unbelievable was Bucky being the one to finally catch Steve's attention. How was that even possible? 

"... Are you fuckin' kidding me?"

Wanda shook her head with a small smile. "It's not so hard to believe. You're very cute."

"Yeah, I'm - but he's - fuck, he's fuckin' -"

"I will throw this at you," she chuckled, wiggling the clock that she was still floating through the air. "Just wear what you'd wear to any other date. Don't overthink it."

Bucky groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "You're right. I'm being an idiot. I just need to get out of my head before I ruin this thing before it can even start."

"Exactly. Oh, I do have one suggestion," she added. "Wear your hair down. It's always up in that little bun at work. He's probably never seen it down, has he?"

Bucky chewed on his lip and shook his head. "I don't think so. Good idea."

"You're welcome," she smiled before laying back down and focusing back on her juggling act. Bucky grinned and then turned back to his closet and the mess that he'd made of it, taking a deep breath and deciding on a game plan at last. 

The next night, five minutes before Steve was scheduled to pick him up for their date, Bucky decided to wait for him outside on the steps leading up to his apartment building. He was too antsy to wait inside, his pacing and constantly fiddling with his hair doing nothing to soothe his nerves. 

He'd ended up going with his first instincts in terms of potential outfits, dressed in his best black skinny jeans, a gray polo and black leather jacket, hair down and grazing his shoulders. He felt pretty good about himself all in all, confidence level as good as he could hope for as he waited and tried not to chew off his nails in the process. 

Then, just as he was about to check his phone for the trillionth time, he heard the low rumble of an approaching engine and looked up towards the road just in time to see a sleek black motorcycle make its way down. One glimpse of the blonde hair on the head of the man driving it and Bucky almost moaned out loud. 

He hadn't realized Steve would be picking him up on _his damn motorcycle._ He was going to die, and it had nothing to do with fear of an accident or vehicle collision. 

Bucky's jaw was on the ground as Steve came to a stop right in front of the building, killing the engine and looking up with a rueful grin on his face as their eyes met. Bucky grinned and shook his head, standing up and heading down the stairs with his hands in his pockets as Steve walked to meet him halfway. 

"You know," Bucky sighed, eyeing Steve up and down, enjoying the way he filled out his dark jeans, brown leather jacket and white shirt underneath, "I guess I should have expected the bike, and yet..."

"Sorry," Steve shrugged, that slightly smile of his stuck to his face as Bucky came closer. "Should have warned you."

"Nah, it's okay," Bucky assured him, offering him a crooked grin. "Makes sense that you like to make a dramatic entrance."

Steve chuckled and nodded, ducking his head for a moment before looking back up and giving Bucky an appreciative once-over. "You look great."

Bucky wasn't typically one to blush, very few people in the world having the power to cause such a reaction in him, but he blushed up a storm at that softly spoken little compliment. "Thanks. You too... though you already knew that, I'm sure."

"Don't know about that," Steve replied with a smile, running a hand through his hair seemingly nervously. "But thank you." Then he gestured to his bike over his shoulder and added, "We can take a cab if you'd rather -"

"Oh hell no," Bucky quickly shook his head, giving Steve a slightly mischievous grin. "I definitely wanna take a ride on that thing."

Steve laughed, cheeks flushing a little at those words. The motorcycle wasn't all Bucky wanted to take a ride on, of course, but he'd save that for later if all went well. "All right, well... let's get going, then."

If Bucky had thought that he was prepared for the prospect of climbing on the back of that damn motorcycle and holding on to Steve as he revved the engine, he quickly found out that he couldn't have possibly been more wrong. Steve got on first and then helped Bucky on next, Bucky attempting to maintain a respectful distance with both his body and his hands until Steve glanced back at him and said, "If I were you I'd get a lot closer."

Well then. "Don't gotta twist my arm," Bucky all but purred, scooting closer and placing his hands on Steve's narrow little waist through his jacket. He was pretty sure that Steve grinned a little to himself before turning the engine back on and getting them on the road. 

Bucky couldn't imagine a better start to a first date. 

OOO

"So... that leg sure healed up fast, huh?"

Steve chuckled and fiddled with the stem of the water glass in front of him, both men having ordered their dinners already and now faced with the prospect of nothing but talking until the entrees arrived. They were both nervous and each man knew it, but Bucky was a little better at hiding it than Steve. Judging by the poor man's clear anxiety, Bucky concluded that Wanda was right - he hadn't been on a date in ages. It was a damn travesty. 

"I heal quickly," Steve shrugged. "Comes in handy."

"Yeah, I'd say so," Bucky nodded with a grin. "So I guess you're back in action now, too?"

"Training the new recruits," Steve nodded. "Always keeps me busy. How about you? You like working at the compound?"

"I do," Bucky nodded, eyes lighting up a little bit as he smiled. "It's a once in a lifetime kinda job, you know? Never thought I'd be taking care of gods and secret agents and... living legends."

Steve's lips quirked at those last few words, glancing down as he shook his head. "Well, I'm glad you got the job. Might have been a lot harder for me to meet you otherwise."

Bucky grinned. "Yeah, and then you wouldn't be sitting here having dinner with me."

Steve grinned back. "Nope."

"Speaking of that... I'm still blown away that this is even real," Bucky admitted, tucking one side of his hair behind his ear in a slightly nervous gesture. "I mean... not just because you are who you are. I figured you were straight."

"You know... pretty sure I thought I was too," Steve replied with a sheepish smile. "But... here we are."

".... Really?" Bucky asked in quiet disbelief. "So... am I the first guy you've gone out with?"

"Honor's all yours," Steve joked. "But yeah, no, I just... to be honest, dating and relationships... it's not the kind of thing I've ever had a lot of time for." He paused and then amended carefully, "Well, I've never _allowed_ myself to have time for it. Not since I came out of the ice."

Bucky nodded, recalling what he'd learned about Steve not just from his old history books but from the media in general. "And I guess before that you had the war. Can't really date during one of those."

"There was one woman," Steve nodded, glancing down at the table with a sad glint to his eyes. "We didn't have time for dating, but she was..." He glanced up at Bucky and paused. "You've probably read about her."

Bucky nodded, trying not to cringe because he had and he already knew the woman's name. "Peggy Carter, right?"

Steve sighed. "Yep."

"I'm sorry," Bucky quickly and quietly replied. "You know what... since I'm at kinda an unfair advantage here, why don't you put me on the hot seat instead? Even up the playing field, since I know way too much about you and you barely know anything about me."

"Okay," Steve smiled, appreciating the turn in the conversation. "Let's see... what inspired you to get into nursing?"

"My mom," Bucky replied. "Yeah, I lost her when I was a teenager - cancer."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Steve immediately replied, face falling. 

"Thank you," Bucky nodded. "She fought hard but in the end there wasn't anything else she could do. It got real bad and... it was awful, but she had some amazing nurses and they were just... incredible. They helped me out, too, when I was on the verge of losing it. So yeah, after that, I knew that was what I wanted to do. Help people the way they helped my mom. My dad, he wanted me to be a doctor instead but I'm used to disappointing him, so..." Bucky shrugged with a nonchalant smile. 

Steve had that quietly thoughtful look about him. "It's hard for me to imagine you being a disappointment to anyone. He should be proud of you."

"He stopped being proud of me the day I brought home a boyfriend for Christmas instead of a girl," Bucky replied, trying to maintain his nonchalance but this particular topic bringing a tingling to his fingers and an anxious tightening of his chest. It always did. 

"Oh," Steve frowned. "I'm sorry."

"I told my mom that I liked girls _and_ boys when I was 13 and she was great about it, she didn't even blink," Bucky recalled. "My dad found out later and he kind of just... ignored it. Think he thought it was a phase and I'd get over it eventually. Plus it didn't really affect him at all because I only had girlfriends in high school, so he never had to deal with it. But then in college I brought a guy home, and... yeah."

"You still talk to him?" Steve asked. "Your dad, I mean."

"Occasionally," Bucky shrugged. "Ever since Mom dying and then that, we just... don't see eye to eye on much. I figure he'll either get his head out of his ass someday or he won't but either way I'm not gonna hold my breath."

"You shouldn't have to deal with that," Steve muttered. "Fucking can't stand ignorant people."

Bucky's brows shot up in surprise and he smiled slowly, having not ever heard the man curse before. "Hey," he chuckled softly, "it's all right. I mean, it's not all right but it is what it is, you know? I stopped letting him hurt me a long time ago. And I've done just fine without his help, so... how about another question, get us off this depressing subject?"

Steve grinned and nodded. "Okay. Um... how about... what's your favorite color?"

Bucky laughed at the silly question. "Blue. Dark blue."

Steve tilted his head. "Ice cream?"

"Double chocolate chip."

Steve lifted a brow. "That's a lot of chocolate."

Bucky grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, that's the idea."

"Cat person or dog person?"

"Kinda both, but right now I've got a cat," Bucky shrugged. "She's a dick but she's a cat, so..."

Steve laughed. "How about... coffee or tea?"

"Both, every day," Bucky grinned. 

"Rum or vodka?"

Bucky squinted. "Whiskey."

"Good choices," Steve grinned, nodding. "Can't argue with any of those."

"Is it true that you can't get drunk?" Bucky asked. "I mean, I saw it in your file so I assume it's true, but..."

"Yeah, seems that way," Steve replied. "In theory Asgardian liquor might do the trick but I have yet to test it."

"Shit, Asgardian liquor," Bucky murmured. "That would probably knock out an elephant. Does it suck, not being able to drink like normal?"

Steve shrugged. "Sometimes, yeah. But all in all it's not a big deal. Definitely worth the trade off. Asthma's a bitch."

Bucky laughed at that, and then their conversation was interrupted by their server bringing them their entrees. He'd almost forgotten about the food entirely, enjoying the date more than he'd enjoyed any others in recent memory. He and Steve had already tread some difficult subjects and it hadn't felt nearly as awkward as he would have imagined it would, and they'd been able to navigate to lighter territory effortlessly. He felt comfortable talking to Steve, much more than he expected to, and it seemed like Steve was enjoying himself as well. 

Maybe, he thought, this just might work out all right after all. 

They continued to chat while they ate their dinners - which were delicious - and the time flew by entirely too quickly. Bucky felt like they'd just sat down to eat when their bill arrived, but that was okay - their date was far from over. 

In lieu of doing any other typical first date activities like catching a movie or something similar, Steve got Bucky back on his bike and drove them to a park that he liked to take his morning jogs through, and they took a leisurely walk through it while picking up their conversation where they'd left off. It was mostly empty and well-lit, the slight chill in the autumn air pleasant as they walked along one of the trails and enjoyed the fresh air. 

"... and then I turned around just in time for Stark to vaporize it and all of those alien guts to splatter all over me," Steve grimaced, recalling the gross memory with a faint shudder. "I've seen a lot over the years, but that was... an experience."

"Gross," Bucky grinned, wrinkling his nose. "I see a lot of gross shit as a nurse but never had to deal with alien guts."

"Not yet," Steve remarked with a teasing grin. "You never know what you're gonna have to dig into next, working with us."

".... I guess that's true," Bucky conceded. "Well. Hopefully alien gut situations only happen on my days off."

Steve snorted, hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I'll request you specifically and they'll call you in next time we get one."

Bucky shot him a playful glare. "You would, wouldn't you?" When Steve did nothing but grin mischievously, Bucky took a deep breath and shook his head. "You must be pretty feeling pretty good about your chances with me, threatening disgusting shit on the first date."

"Well," Steve shrugged, "I figure it's a good test, you know. Anyone who's gonna potentially be my boyfriend is probably gonna have to deal with alien guts at some point."

Bucky couldn't help his instant reaction to those words, looking up at Steve and smiling like an idiot. The idea of being his boyfriend... yeah, Bucky would wade waist-deep through alien innards all day if that's what it took to earn that particular title. 

Steve smiled back and let his eyes linger just long enough for Bucky to ask through his own dopey smile, "What?"

"Nothing," Steve shook his head, not pulling his gaze away. "I like your hair down like that."

"Oh," Bucky smiled, reflexively pushing it back behind his ear. "Yeah, I was hoping you would."

"I like it up too," Steve added quickly, as if he was worried he'd insinuated otherwise. "The way you wear it at work. It always looks good." Bucky grinned at him and his slightly rushed words, the faint and possibly embarrassed flush on his cheeks. Steve let out a sigh and looked down at his feet as he added quietly, "Sorry. I've never been very good at this part."

Bucky decided to take a chance and reached between them, pulling one of Steve's hands from his pocket and taking it in his own. "You're doing just fine, Steve," Bucky assured him, giving his hand a squeeze and loving the way that Steve's eyes brightened at his words. 

_Oh, the things that he could do to this man._

The night went by way too fast and long before either of them were ready to part ways, Steve had taken Bucky back to his apartment and was walking him up to his door. Their hands were entangled again and for a moment or two Bucky considered trying to coax Steve inside and not let the night end where he was pretty sure that it would, but ultimately he decided to just let things flow as they would. He didn't want to push it or push Steve, didn't want to risk a blunder after such an incredible night. 

Instead, Bucky let Steve walk him to his door like a gentleman, and once they arrived Bucky turned to face him and smiled as their hands regretfully parted ways, "Well... thanks for taking me out tonight, Steve. I had a great time."

"Me too," Steve smiled shyly, suddenly bashful all over again. "Thanks for saying yes."

Bucky scoffed lightly, smile never fading. "I'd have been crazy not to."

Steve's expression softened, lips parting before he replied cautiously, "I'd love to take you out again sometime.... if you want."

"Hmm... let me think about that one," Bucky pretended to contemplate, bringing another blush to Steve's cheeks. "I'll have to see if I can pencil you in to my busy schedule..."

"Let me know how that goes," Steve chuckled. Bucky snickered back and then they each fell silent, Steve eventually taking a deep breath and murmuring, "I guess I should get going."

Bucky nodded, despite very much not wanting him to go anywhere. "Unless you wanna kiss me goodnight first."

It was forward, just a little bit, but Bucky had gotten a very good feel for Steve over the last few hours and he knew that he would have to be the instigator and coax Steve out of his shell for anything physical, even the innocent stuff, to happen. And that was fine. He was more than happy to do whatever Steve needed him to. 

Steve's eyes quickly flickered up to his and lingered there as Bucky's words settled between them. Then, never one to shy away from a challenge, Steve swallowed and stepped closer, Bucky's heart rate shooting through the roof with each inch of distance that disappeared. 

Steve reached out and cupped Bucky's cheek as he leaned in, his touch gentle and careful, and Bucky wasn't sure he'd ever anticipated a kiss so deeply before in his life. His eyes fell shut just before he felt Steve's breath wash over his lips, followed by a soft, tender brush of a kiss that despite its softness and innocence made every nerve ending in his body come alive. 

He reached out and pulled Steve closer, kissing him back slowly and savoring the sweetness of the moment. When they pulled away Steve didn't go far, still cradling Bucky's face while Bucky's hand slid to the back of his neck, both men taking a breath before their lips met again. This time it was less tentative, surer, Steve's lips on Bucky's more confident and all the more intoxicating for it. Bucky's finger's moved through Steve's short blonde hair as he lost himself to it all, letting his tongue run across Steve's lower lip and earning a nearly imperceptibly low groan in turn. 

That was all it took, and suddenly they were kissing like mad. Steve's tongue played with his and the next thing Bucky knew his back was against his apartment door, their chests pressed together and heat rising more and more with each passing second. Bucky couldn't get enough and Steve didn't seem to want to stop either, Bucky managing to break away from their kisses only to look up at him and breathlessly ask, "Wanna come in?"

Steve nodded, eyes dilated and hooded and full of desire that made Bucky shiver, and Bucky almost moaned out loud before turning away to dig out his keys and get his door open. The very second he succeeded, he turned back around and grabbed Steve by the front of his shirt and dragged him inside. 

He wasn't surprised when Steve shut the door by pushing Bucky against it and crashing their lips back together, and _holy fuck_ he was loving it. Steve was so tall and broad and powerful and Bucky was all about Steve handling him like that, taking charge and pushing him around, and he couldn't help but moan into the kiss after his back hit the door to show it. 

Steve's hands were everywhere in a careful sort of way, roaming down to his hips and his sides underneath his jacket but staying in those safe places, his restraint very much intact. Bucky reached up and started pushing Steve's jacket off, not stopping until it was on the floor, and the sound of it dropping made Steve suddenly break away and ask, "Is this too fast?"

"It's not fast enough," Bucky replied before grabbing him and kissing him again, this time steering them towards his living room. The lights weren't on so they each tripped over a few things along the way, including Bucky's cat. Bucky stepped on her tail and got a scandalized screech in response to which he replied, "Outta my way you fucker," just before pushing Steve down on his couch, peeling off his own jacket and climbing on his lap. 

Then they were kissing again, Steve's hands on Bucky's hips and Bucky's hands on Steve's chest, feeling his insane muscles through the fabric and getting so hard in his jeans that it was nearly painful. But Steve broke away again, panting this time as he muttered, "Wait wait wait."

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked, seeing the hesitation in Steve's eyes and having no idea what on earth it could possibly be there for. 

"Nothing," Steve shook his head. "Trust me, I don't wanna stop."

Bucky grinned. "Then why did you stop?"

Steve took a centering, shaky breath. "Because I... I don't... do this."

Bucky furrowed his brows but nodded, running his hands over Steve's shoulders soothingly, figuring Steve just meant that it had been awhile. "It's all right. I haven't done this in awhile, either."

Steve briefly closed his eyes and explained quietly, "No, I mean I've... never... done this."

".... Slept with a guy?"

"Slept with anyone."

And in that moment, Bucky Barnes' brain exploded. 

Steve Rogers being a virgin at the age of 97 was not something that Bucky would have ever even entertained as a possibility - _all those USO girls! Peggy Carter! All of his hot Avengers teammates!_ \- but now here it was, the truth laying right in front of him in the form of Steve and his beautiful, anxious blue eyes, staring up and him and waiting nervously for his reaction. 

Bucky opened his mouth to speak and closed it several times until he finally managed to ask, "Never?"

"Never," Steve shook his head, blushing slightly and looking away. "If that's a problem -"

"Oh, fuck no," Bucky quickly assured him, the idea of that being a _problem_ leaving him aghast. "No, of course it's not, I just - d'you... we can do other things, we don't have to -"

"I want to," Steve confessed, hands tightening on Bucky's waist just enough for him to feel it. "I've never really... wanted to before, with anyone. Not like this."

Bucky could barely believe what he was hearing and seeing. "You sure, Steve? That's a long time to wait and I'm..."

Steve nodded, pulling him in for a kiss. After, forehead to forehead, Steve murmured, "Yeah, Bucky. I want it to be you."

Bucky took a deep, calming breath that did absolutely nothing to soothe him, the idea of taking this man's virginity leaving him breathless. "You're sure though? This was only our first date and I know you're an old fashioned kinda guy. Don't want you to do anything you'll regret."

Steve smiled at him affectionately, grateful for Bucky's concern and adoring him all the more for it. "Yeah, Buck. I'm sure. Really think I've waited long enough."

Bucky smiled and then cocked his head. "What'd you just call me?" When Steve merely shrugged and smiled, Bucky grinned and added. "I like it. All right, Rogers," he clambered off of Steve's lap and extended his hand to him. "You wanna do this, we're gonna do it fuckin' right."

"Yes sir," Steve replied playfully, letting Bucky pull him to his feet. Bucky smirked and then turned around, leading Steve to his bedroom. 

He turned on the light when they stepped inside his room, turning around and walking backwards as he led Steve to the bed. "So tell me something, Steve," Bucky said once they reached the edge of the bed, turning them around so that Steve was the one standing in front of it. "How the _hell_ has nobody gotten you into bed yet?"

Steve chuckled and then lost his breath as Bucky pushed him down to sit on the bed, looking up at Bucky and finding himself speechless as he leaned back and pulled his shirt over his head. Bucky was lean and broad, his skin simply begging to be touched and making Steve's mouth water with the desire to taste it. 

".... What was the question?" Steve asked with a dopey smile. They both started laughing, Bucky shaking his head as he stepped forward between Steve's legs and reached down to rid him of his own shirt. 

"I said," Bucky pulled Steve's shirt from his shoulders and then tossed it aside, groaning out loud at the sight of his utterly flawless, huge, perfectly sculpted chest. "How the hell," Bucky slowly dropped down on his knees, placing a kiss just under Steve's collarbone and peeking up at him. "Has nobody," he kissed down his chest towards his abs, maintaining eye contact all the while, "gotten your sexy fuckin' ass into bed yet?"

Steve was blushing hard, lips curling into a grin as he leaned back and slipped his fingers into Bucky's hair, watching him rain hot kisses down his stomach. "I've had plenty of offers, but just... never really wanted to take any."

Undoing Steve's belt, Bucky looked up and asked with genuine confusion, "Then why me?"

Steve smiled and shook his head, looking away before replying softly as he tucked Bucky's hair behind his ear, "Because I just... I like you. A lot," he blushed. "I feel like I've known you forever. Which I know sounds cheesy and doesn't make any sense but -"

"No, no," Bucky smiled, lifting up to kiss Steve softly and sweetly, but definitely not innocently. "I know what you mean. Kinda feel that way too."

"You do?" Steve smiled, a dreamy little glint in his blue eyes. Bucky nodded, and it was the truth - he didn't know why he felt so damn comfortable with Steve already and had no idea why this felt so _right_ but it did and he couldn't get enough. They kissed again and Bucky let himself get lost in it until he remembered what he'd been doing before Steve had distracted him being so damn adorable. 

He dropped back down to his knees, hands smoothing up Steve's denim-covered legs and lips drifting down his abs. Then he let his palm slide over the front of Steve's jeans, rubbing him through the rough material and earning a hiss and slight jump in response. "So tell me," Bucky said, pulling the jeans open slowly, "anybody ever got their mouth on you before?"

Steve shook his head, watching Bucky with great anticipation. 

Bucky rubbed him through the thinner material of the black boxer briefs Steve was wearing, inwardly rejoicing because just as he'd predicted, Steve was... a mouthful. More than one, in fact. He looked up and met Steve's tense gaze and asked, "Can I?"

"Please," came Steve's responding plea, softer than Bucky expected, and he didn't hesitate to to bite his lip and quickly reach in and pull him free. 

His hand gripping the beautifully smooth, hard flesh, Bucky took a moment to gaze at it and truly take it in, his voice low and velvety as he marveled, "My God..." He gave Steve one long, lazy stroke and then another, and Steve's hands on the sheets tightened, his abs clenching and breath hitching. "Look at this gorgeous fuckin' thing..."

"Bucky," Steve groaned, nearly squirming already. Bucky didn't take his eyes off of the prize, leaning in instead and licking one long perfect line from the bottom to the top, swirling around the tip and stroking him all the while. Steve watched him, mouth open and heart slamming in his chest as he took in the new sensations, and then Bucky swallowed him down with a quiet, pleasures groan and Steve nearly lost it then and there. 

Steve was a lot to take and it had been awhile since Bucky had last done this, but he was well-practiced and knew just how to relax his jaw and throat and give Steve a blow job to remember. Knowing that he was the first to taste him like this, to be on his knees in front of Steve and suck on that perfect cock of his... it made Bucky so hard it hurt. He'd always enjoyed doing this but this time it was special, and to his delight, Steve was expressive as hell. 

"Oh my God," Steve moaned breathlessly as he watched himself disappear over and over within Bucky's hungry mouth, his fingers slipping within Bucky's hair not to direct him but to just hold on. Steve had never felt anything like this, not by a long shot, and it wasn't long before he was teetering on the brink. "Buck, I'm gonna - "

Bucky responded by taking him even deeper and sucking harder, doubling his efforts. Steve cursed loud and beautiful, his grip on Bucky's hair tightening as he lost control and came hard in his mouth. 

Bucky took everything Steve gave him, eyes watering and cheeks flushed and jaw definitely aching a little, and it was everything he'd wanted and more. He gently licked Steve clean and pulled off of him panting, catching his breath and smirking up at the sight that Steve made. He was leaning back on his hands, chest heaving and head lolled back and to the side, breathing hard through his mouth as he slowly recovered. Bucky swiped a hand over his mouth and then glanced back down, noting that Steve was still very much hard and not appearing to soften in the least. _Damn_. 

Bucky looked up again and this time Steve's eyes were open and fixed upon him, making his heart thud instantly. Bucky grinned and slipped back up, hands resting on Steve's thighs as he leaned in for a kiss and murmured, "Like that, Captain?"

He kissed Steve before he could answer, slipping his tongue past his lips and delving into his mouth, making sure that Steve could taste himself a little bit. Steve groaned and rubbed his large hands over Bucky's sides, down his back and to his ass where he gripped and squeezed him through his jeans before moving his fingers to Bucky's belt. They kissed in a passionate daze as Steve quickly did away with Bucky's jeans, pushing them and his underwear down in one motion and breaking away from the kiss only to order gruffly, "Off."

Bucky took a step back to quickly obey, maneuvering the worthless rest of his clothes off while Steve got to his feet and did the same. By the time Bucky's jeans were in a heap across the room, he looked up to find Steve gloriously, magnificently naked in front of him and only mere inches away. Bucky stared at him shamelessly, taking in the full sight of him while Steve did the same to him. Somehow, to Bucky's amazement, Steve looked at him as if Bucky was every bit as dazzling and perfect as Steve was himself. 

"God, look at you," Steve marveled, stepping forward and grasping Bucky's waist and picking him up like he weighed no more than a feather. Bucky let out a noise of surprise and clutched his shoulders, legs wrapping around his waist instinctively though nobody had ever picked him up like this before. It was thrilling, knowing just how strong Steve was and how powerful, Steve wrapping just one arm around his waist as his other hand pulled Bucky in for a furious kiss. 

Then Steve turned them around and knelt on the bed, holding Bucky up effortlessly as he moved them up towards the pillows. Bucky giggled when Steve let go and dropped him down right in the center of the sheets, head nestled comfortably on his pillows, and all Bucky could do was reach up and wrap his arms around Steve's neck while muttering, " _God_ you're so hot."

Steve smiled back with that charming little blush on his cheeks and then they were kissing again, Bucky's legs wrapped tight around Steve's narrow hips and their bodies moving together like it was the most natural thing in the world. Their hands were everywhere, touching and exploring and grasping, cocks rubbing together and quiet little breathless moans escaping them both. 

Steve started kissing on Bucky's neck and shoulder, nipping and licking and leaving marks there for later, and Bucky was so far gone he might as well have been somewhere up in the atmosphere. He hadn't been this turned on and desperate in possibly _ever_ , and his voice sounded barely recognizable to himself when he moaned and begged, "God, Steve, _fuck_ me."

Steve shuddered, mouth dragging down Bucky's chest when those words hit his ears. "I want to," he murmured, peeking up at his lover. 

"Then do it," Bucky urged him, pulling him up to kiss him like his life depended on it. "I need you, I need it."

Steve grinned against his lips, grinding down on him harder for emphasis. "You need it, huh?"

Bucky moaned and whined, "Don't tease me, Steve, please..."

"Okay, baby," Steve murmured, kissing him one more time before lifting his head and glancing around. "Where's your -"

"Drawer, right there," Bucky pointed to his nightstand, and Steve wasted no time in leaning over and opening it up. 

After a brief rummaging around and blindly grabbing something that Steve was pretty sure was a fairly sizable vibrator, he found a mostly full bottle of lube and didn't bother shutting the drawer before returning to Bucky and kissing him fast and deep. 

Bucky expected things to take a mildly awkward turn at this point but to his surprise, Steve simply pulled away and popped the top of the lube, pouring it over the fingers of his left hand. Bucky watched for a moment and then said, "If you'd rather - I can do this part, if you want,"

Steve paused and looked down at Bucky in slight confusion. "What?"

"Just because this is your first time," Bucky shrugged, now feeling silly for having said anything. "I can open myself up real quick and -"

Steve shook his head. "I want to do this, Bucky. And I know what I'm doing."

Bucky stared at him, a surprised little grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "... All right." Then he furrowed his brows, the wheels in his head turning. If Steve knew how to do this but had never been intimate with anyone before... "Aw, fuck, Steve," Bucky groaned with delight. "You like playing with yourself?"

"I'm a virgin, I'm not dead," Steve grinned back, leaning down and kissing him before nudging Bucky's legs further apart. Bucky spread them wide and moaned softly in anticipation as Steve's hand slipped down between them, warm and slick and pretty damn confident as he slowly rubbed a fingertip against him and made Bucky bite his lip and shiver a little. 

Bucky liked this and always had, a pro by now at relaxing his body and welcoming the intrusion. And when it happened, Steve's finger slipping inside slowly as they made out like teenagers, Bucky broke away to breathe in slow and evenly, letting the tension in his body melt away and make room for what was to come. Steve watched him carefully and asked quietly, "You okay?"

"Definitely," Bucky grinned up at him. "Keep going."

Steve grinned back and didn't hesitate to comply, dipping that finger in a little deeper and taking Bucky's breath away. He loved the rush of sensations, the way that the initial pain gave way to nothing but pleasure, and he was so focused and so high on what he and Steve were doing that he barely noticed how Steve's lips were slowly working his way down his body until he felt the first gentle, experimental slide of a hot tongue along the head of his cock. 

Bucky's eyes flew open and he looked down, nearly coming at the sight that greeted him. Steve was between his legs and slowly sliding his lips over his cock, one finger buried inside of him and slowly working in and out, his eyes closed and every bit of his focus dedicated to Bucky and Bucky alone. 

Bucky cursed and let his head fall back against the pillows, his hair a mess all around him. This may just prove to be the death of him. 

Steve was no slow or shy learner, thoroughly enjoying having Bucky in his mouth and making sure the man knew it. He sucked him nice and slow, bobbing his head up and down and matching the rhythm of his fingers, slipping a second one inside as Bucky moaned and pulled gently at Steve's short blonde hair. It was a relentless barrage of pleasure and sensations, the intensity growing every time he opened his eyes to watch Steve work. He was beautiful like that, pink lips stretched and unfairly long eyelashes resting on his cheeks, the slight furrow of his brows that gave away how focused he was, and by the time Steve had a third finger inside of him and hitting the right spot while still sucking him off like it was his damn job, Bucky couldn't take anymore. 

"Stop stop, fuck, Steve, stop," Bucky gasped, and Steve stopped at once. He pulled off with an audible pop and panted as he looked up at Bucky, fingers still inside of him but falling still as he gave Bucky a chance to calm down. "Oh my God..."

Steve grinned as he slowly pulled his fingers free, grabbing the discarded lube as he slowly slipped back up Bucky's body. "So... not bad for my first time?"

Bucky shot him a playful glare and pulled him down for a sloppy, hungry kiss. "So fucking good, Steve. You're amazing."

Steve smiled and gave him a long, sweet kiss that turned utterly filthy. Bucky wrapped his legs around his waist and started rolling his hips up, looking for friction and giving Steve all the permission he needed to take him. Steve knew what he needed, what they both needed, and quickly slicked himself up before aligning them just right and looking Bucky in the eyes before taking that last step. 

"Please, Steve," Bucky murmured, and those two words were Steve's final undoing. He slowly pushed forward, sliding carefully within the tight warmth of Bucky's body and letting his eyes roll shut at the exquisite, almost overwhelming sensation. Bucky breathed hard as he adjusted to the fullness and the sheer size of Steve, the beauty of his expression in that moment making all of it special and so much more than just sex and just the joining of two bodies. The fact that Steve had chosen Bucky to share this moment with and to give this piece of himself to... how on earth had he ever gotten so damn lucky? 

Steve only stopped once he was fully seated, falling still and giving them both a chance to catch their breaths. He pressed his forehead to Bucky's and they shared a few breaths before he murmured, "You okay, Buck?"

"I am so much better than okay, Steve," Bucky replied dreamily, his own silly smile drawing one from Steve. Then they kissed and it was slow and perfect and _dammit_ Bucky might just fall in love with this man. Hell, maybe he already had. 

Steve started moving only when Bucky's breathing had evened out, his focus on Bucky's well-being and comfort damn near superhuman. And once he started rolling his hips he did so slowly, savoring the new and intoxicating sparks of pleasure racing up and down his spine. This was worth waiting for, he knew now beyond a doubt, and he couldn't have been happier that he'd waited. 

His already-tenuous restraint threatened to snap when Bucky started pushing up to meet every increasingly deep thrust, each one now nothing but pleasure. Steve knew when he started brushing that spot, Bucky's noises and gasps giving it away, and when he shifted slightly and started _pounding_ it... well, he'd never heard such sweet, perfect sounds before in his life. 

Both of them caught up and moving together as if they always had and this was the most natural thing on earth, Steve buried his face in Bucky's neck and moaned his name in a way that Bucky had never heard anyone say it before. He wrapped his arms around Steve and then flipped them over, Steve's head hitting the pillow with a thud and his eyes opening as Bucky sat up straight and started to ride him. 

Steve gazed up at Bucky like he'd never seen anything so beautiful or perfect in his life, all lean and sweat-slicked skin, his long hair a gorgeous mess and cock hard and weeping, everything about him making Steve ache for him. Bucky kept one hand on Steve's chest as he rocked back and forth, his other hand shoving his hair back and out of his eyes, pretty lips parted and kiss-swollen as quiet cries of Steve's name slipped through them. 

Steve watched until he couldn't take it anymore, sitting up and crashing their lips together and rhythm never breaking as they raced to the end together. Bucky was so close that it nearly hurt, hanging by a thread and body just a hair's breadth from ecstasy, clutching Steve's shoulders as if for dear life as they rocked harder and harder. 

"Buck," Steve moaned into his mouth, movements growing erratic and expression utterly wrecked. _"Oh God..."_

"Let go, Steve," Bucky panted in his ear, unable to hold back any longer. _"Fuck..."_

Steve's hands gripped Bucky's hips more than hard enough to bruise and then it was all over, Steve burying his face against Bucky's shoulder and coming long and hard, filling him up with a roar of a moan that Bucky felt in very bones. He followed him over the edge without another word, coming untouched between them and trembling as his best orgasm in _years_ crashed through him. It was beautiful and intense and everything that Bucky had never expected to share with anyone, let alone Steve Rogers of all people, but now that he had... he just might never be the same. 

The next time Bucky opened his eyes, he was lying in Steve's arms within the mess that they'd made on the sheets. He was warm and sated and felt like he could sleep for a week, Steve's chest under his head the best pillow a guy could ask for. 

He looked up and smiled, catching Steve's own heavy-lidded gaze. Then Steve leaned down to kiss Bucky's forehead, and Bucky groaned contentedly, "That was fuckin' amazing."

Steve sighed long and heavy, eyes closing and fingers tracing up and down Bucky's spine. "That's an understatement."

Bucky smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest. "Did it live up to your expectations?"

"To be honest," Steve replied quietly, "I always figured after waiting this long it would be a let down. But... that was better than anything I've ever imagined."

Bucky's smile widened. "Really?"

Steve smiled back, gently tracing his cheekbone with a long finger. "Really." Then he leaned down and kissed Bucky sweetly, and Bucky was pretty sure that this night simply couldn't get any better. It was like a scene or a movie out of a book, something that shouldn't have been possible in real life - too good to be true. And yet here they were. 

"God I just wanna fall asleep," Bucky chuckled after they broke the kiss, noses brushing together. "But we gotta clean up first."

"Yeah, you made a mess," Steve replied teasingly. 

"Yeah, it was all me," Bucky nodded back. "Guess I won't have to invite you for a shower like I was planning on."

"Well, let's not go _that_ far," Steve grinned before they fell into another kiss, this one lingering until Bucky finally managed to pry himself away from Steve and climb out of bed. Despite the soreness taking root within, he still managed to display an impressive amount of swagger as he strolled from the bedroom to the bathroom, leaving the door open for Steve to follow if he wanted to. And of course... Steve very much did. 

Bucky wasn't sure what would become of them or how serious this growing relationship would prove to be, but he was more than excited to find out. They kissed their way through their hot, lazy shower and laughed while changing the sheets, neither of them hesitating to snuggle up after and fall into blissfully deep sleep in one another's arms. It felt so right and _so damn good_ \- who were they to question it when they both needed it so badly?

It just might prove to be the start of something very, _very_ good. It would certainly be an adventure, undoubtedly, but since when had either Bucky or Steve ever shied away from one of those?


End file.
